The ManicaPost
Rumbidzayi Zinyuke Senior Reporter
THERE is no place like home.
Thousands of Zimbabweans who were staying or working in different parts of the world have resolved to come back home as their adopted countries grapple with the Covid-19 pandemic.
To date, Africa has recorded more than 33 000 cases of Covid-19 and more than 1 400 deaths.
Early this week, Manicaland received the first batch of returnees and they are being quarantined at Rowa Training Centre just outside Mutare.
More are expected to come through following reports that a large group of returnees is on its way to Mozambique’s Port of Beira by ship. The returnees will be quarantined in Manicaland.
Life has certainly not been easy for these returnees.
Those housed at Rowa Training Centre spoke of their despair at leaving jobs and families based in Mozambique to come back home.
They spoke of an uncertain future.
Tinashe Moyo (not his real name) had been in Mozambique for two months after got stranded after Zimbabwe and Mozambique announced lockdowns in March.
He had gone to buy goods for resale, and he never got the chance to get them.
“I am a vendor and I usually go to Mozambique to buy things like dried kapenta, onions and basic commodities, which I sell back home in Harare. I went to Mozambique two months ago and lockdowns were effected before I had purchased my goods.
“I thought I could stay until the measures were lifted, but I realised that I was slowly running out of money since I was renting a small room and sharing it with others. I then decided to come back home,” he said.
However, fate dealt him another blow as he lost the only US$20 note that was left in his pocket.
Now Moyo will have to go back home with nothing for his wife and children. He does not have any other savings, so he will have to start from scratch when he gets back home.
“I don’t think I will be able to continue with business after this because all the money I had is gone. When this quarantine is over, I will have to go back home empty-handed and face my family,” he said.
Another returnee, Mrs Jane Nyamwanza (also not her real name) came back from Mozambique’s Manica Province with her one-year-nine-months-old baby.
She said life in a foreign land during this period is not ideal and she had opted to come back home and leave her husband behind.
“I am a Nyanga resident and my husband works in Manica Province, Mozambique. When I went there, l only intended to stay for three days or so, but the lockdown came into effect while I was still there.
“After staying for 21 days, I realised that I had to come back or risk overstaying in a foreign country. Getting to the border was not difficult at all and the Ministry of Health and Child Care officials who met us at Forbes Border Post were very helpful. They counselled us and told us that we could go home after eight days once we are tested for Covid-19 and cleared,” she said.
However, the most difficult part for Mrs Nyamwanza has been her son’s upkeep since he is refusing to eat.
“My son does not breastfeed. He takes formula and eats porridge and other light meals. But since we got here, he has been fussy and is refusing to eat anything. He is only taking milk and juices.
“I am really grateful because the authorities here ran around to purchase milk formula for him as he was crying a lot and fast losing his energy.
“I really cannot wait to go back home so that our lives can go back to normal,” she said.
Another returnee who preferred anonymity said he had been stuck in Maputo for two months, but decided to come back home as he ‘prefers to be among his kinsmen than dying in a foreign land’.
So far, Mozambique has recorded 76 cases of Covid-19, with Maputo recording the largest number.
“I was in Maputo for about two months. I had gone there for a visit. After realising that things were not normalising any time soon, I decided to come back home.
“The journey from Maputo was tough. We didn’t get any breaks along the way, except for the stops at the checkpoints where health officials did temperature checks and asked everyone to wash their hands,” he said.
He said the language barrier in Mozambique worsened his situation.
“At the boarder’s Zimbabwean side, we received some counselling and the officials managed to allay my fear of the quarantine. This has made my stay here more bearable.”
However, the returnee is worried about the stigmatisation that might come with his stay at the quarantine centre.
“People might think that my stay here means that I am Covid-19 positive,” he said.
While the returnees endure their stay in quarantine, one thing is certain — they are all grateful to be back home.
